Asia Outlook

Archive of commentaries about the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

In the wake of tsunami coverage, challenges and lessons
The tsunami demonstrated that the modern journalists do more than just bring unfolding stories to the world -- but what happens when the press is not prepared for its responsibilities? asks Roby Alampay

I survived -- to write
"I was a victim too", says journalist and Aceh native Nani Afrida

Through the Lens of Catastrophe
Jacqueline Koch chronicles the journey of a photojournalist who lost family and friends in the Dec. 26 tragedy, but took pictures that moved the world

Writing for Relief
Serambi's staff talk about destruction and rebuilding and a newspaper that works for its community, writes Jacqueline Koch from Indonesia

Between a rock and a hard place: Journalism in Indonesia
Serambi's journalists faced hardships even before the tsunami, Jacqueline Koch writes from Aceh

Hidden Perils of the Job
Journalists who cover disaster and doom fall prey to serious health risks -- but not the kind you can see, reports Annie Tao

The reporter as moralist
Reporters of crises pursue a moral position on the issues they are covering, writes Martin Woollacott

And now for the good news
Despite the bleak headlines, it's not all doom and gloom in Asia, writes Pamela Bone

Reporting amidst conflict and crisis
Sri Lankan journalist, Feizal Samath, appraises the challenges of reporting on a disaster in a country divided by a twenty-year-long war

How citizen reporters get the news out first
The news media are beaten to the punch by internet amateurs in tsunami coverage, says Hugh Martin

Kerala media in the chase to cover the tsunami
Journalist Vaikom Madhu surveys Indian coverage of the tsunami that devastated the South Indian coastline

Helicopter Journalism: What's Missing in the Tsunami Coverage
Media advocate Danny Schecter says that what we need is "inside-out" and bottom up coverage -- not just reporting from the clouds

Picking up the pieces
Sri Lankan journalist Feizal Samath recounts the trials and tribulations of covering one of the worst natural disasters in recent history and reviews local and international media’s treatment of the subject